WhatsApp Business: New features detailed as app surfaces online

Facebook’s new tool for small and medium companies – WhatsApp Business – has now surfaced online in a downloadable APK file.

Murmurings around the internet have long heralded the arrival of WhatsApp’s commercial debut, and now an APK file and documentation for WhatsApp Business – the app’s official client for small and medium companies – has surfaced online.

WhatsApp Business will enable companies to have access to an analytics dashboard and defines business and personal accounts, wherein firms will be able to engage with consumers and track interactions with clients and customers.

Firms will be able to register their business as one of several pre-defined categories, such as clothing & apparel, entertainment, or even public & government service. Registered businesses on the service will have a verified ‘tick mark’ next to their profile to denote their corporate nature.

The service debuts with the option for businesses already using WhatsApp to separate their business profile from a personal one, while leaving both clients installed on one device.

In a surprising move, users will also be able to register a landline number for WhatsApp Business, through which they can engage with consumers as they would through a cellular number.

Firms will also be able to schedule “Away Messages” which will automatically respond to consumers seeking to contact companies at inopportune occasions or out-of-business hours.

Interested business owners seeking to trial the service will need to complete a survey and download the app here for testing should they be deemed eligible to join a trial of the service.

The release of WhatsApp Business will likely be followed by a premium client for large-scale organizations, which Facebook has clarified it will supply paid-for tools to.